Jorge Loyzaga is a Mexican architect, interior designer,

conservator-restorer A conservator-restorer is a professional responsible for the Conservation-restoration of cultural heritage, preservation of artistic and cultural artifacts, also known as cultural heritage. Conservators possess the expertise to preserve cultural ...

and professor. He is the founder of Loyzaga Studio, which has become the most prominent proponent of

New Classical architecture New Classical architecture, also known as New Classicism or Contemporary Classical architecture, is a Contemporary architecture, contemporary movement that builds upon the principles of Classical architecture. It is sometimes considered the mode ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. An estimated 600 architectural works have been attributed to Loyzaga, primarily

private residence A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be pe ...

s. Loyzaga has taken inspiration from distinct architectural traditions, including

pre-Hispanic In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European c ...

Spanish Baroque Spanish Baroque is a strand of Baroque architecture that evolved in Spain, its List of provinces of Spain, provinces, and former Spanish Empire, colonies. History The development of the style passed through three phases. Between 1680 and 1720, ...

and Beaux-Arts.

Career

Loyzaga Studio was founded in 1969. In regards to restoration, some notable examples are Loyzaga's involvement in the interior design for some of the rooms in

Chapultepec Castle Chapultepec Castle () is located on top of Chapultepec Hill in Mexico City's Chapultepec park. The name ''Chapultepec'' is the Nahuatl word which means "on the hill of the grasshopper". It is located at the entrance to Chapultepec park, at a he ...

and help in the restoration of the main altar of the

Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven (), also commonly called the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, is the cathedral church of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. It is situated on top of th ...

. In the early 1990s, Loyzaga helped with restoration work of the

Fort Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Fort Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Fuerte de Nuestra Señora de la Soledad'') is a fortification near Umatac, Guam, Umatac, Guam. Built by the Spanish probably between 1802 and 1819, it was the fourth of four fortifi ...

Humåtak, Guam Humåtak (formerly Umatac) is a village on the southwestern coast of the United States territory of Guam. The month of March in the Chamorro language is "Umatalaf," or "to catch guatafi," which is believed to be the root word of Umatac. The villag ...

Completed in 1991, the Torre Comercial América was the tallest skyscraper in the

Monterrey Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...

metro area until 2000, when it was surpassed by Torre Avalanz. Loyzaga Studio is a member of the ''International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism'' (

INTBAU The International Network for Traditional Building, Architecture & Urbanism (INTBAU) is an international organization established in 2001. The organization arose from a research project initiated in 2000 at The Prince's Foundation for the Built ...

) and the

Institute of Classical Architecture & Art The Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA) is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the appreciation and practice of traditional architecture and its allied arts by engaging with educators, professionals, students, an ...

. In the 1980s, Loyzaga designed ''La Milarca'', the private home of

Mauricio Fernández Garza Mauricio Fernández Garza (born April 2, 1950 in Monterrey) is a Mexican people, Mexican politician, businessman and collector directly related to the Fernández Ruiloba wealthy and prominent family; owners of PYOSA (Pigmentos Y Oxidos SA). He w ...

San Pedro Garza García San Pedro Garza García (also known as San Pedro) is a city-municipality in the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Nuevo León and part of the Monterrey Metropolitan area. It is a contemporary commercial suburb of the larger met ...

, Nuevo León. The building was best known for its incorporation of a 16th century Mudéjar ceiling from Almagro, Spain. In 1928 the ceiling was smuggled to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Arthur Byne Arthur Byne (25 September 1884 – 1935) is a controversial figure in the history of Spanish art and Spanish architecture, architecture. Members of the Hispanic Society of America, Byne and his wife, Mildred Stapley Byne, published extensively on t ...

at the request of

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher and politician who developed the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His extravagant methods of yellow jou ...

. It was purchased by Fernández Garza in 1975 from an estate sale in North Carolina. A replica of ''La Milarca'' was created to house the art collection of Fernández Garza as a public museum, the

Museo La Milarca Museo may refer to: * ''Museum'' (2018 film), Mexican drama heist film *Museo station Museo is a Naples Metro station on Line 1. It opened on 5 April 2001 as the eastern terminus of the section of the line between Vanvitelli and Museo. On 27 Ma ...

, including the original Mudéjar ceiling. The studio is headquartered in

San Miguel Chapultepec San Miguel Chapultepec is a colonia or neighborhood in Delegación Miguel Hidalgo in Mexico City. Its borders are: * Avenida Constituyentes and Avenida Chapultepec on the west, bordering Chapultepec Park * The Circuito Interior José Vasconc ...

and is currently run by Loyzaga with his twin daughters, Sophia Alexandra Loyzaga and Fernanda Loyzaga. Completed in 2018, the Centro Cultural Juan Beckmann Gallardo is a cultural institute in

Tequila, Jalisco Santiago de Tequila (; "place of tribute") is a Mexican town and municipality located in the state of Jalisco about 60 km from the city of Guadalajara. Tequila is best known as being the birthplace of the drink that bears its name, "tequila, ...

ran by the Beckmann family, owners of the

José Cuervo Jose Cuervo is a Mexican brand of tequila manufactured by Proximo Spirits. As of 2012, it was the best-selling tequila brand in the world,Dana Cimilluca, Paul Sonne and Simon Zekaria“Diageo Ends Its Attempt to Buy Jose Cuervo Tequila,”''Wall ...

tequila brand. The cultural institute was inspired by the 18th century Baroque building of the

Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas Colegio de San Ignacio de Loyola Vizcaínas is a non-profit educational institution which was established in the mid 18th century in a Baroque architecture, Baroque building that occupies an entire city block in the historic center of Mexico City ...

. Throughout its existence, Loyzaga Studio has employed several workshops of traditional Mexican craftspeople, particularly woodworkers, for their projects. In 2023, the first book covering Loyzaga's work was published by Rizzoli. The illustrated book covers 19 residential buildings. Philip Alvaré, editor of the book, cited the 1897 manuel ''

The Decoration of Houses ''The Decoration of Houses'', a manual of interior design written by Edith Wharton with architect Ogden Codman, was first published in 1897. In the book, the authors denounce Victorian-style interior decoration and interior design, especially ro ...

'' as having an influence on Loyzaga.

Personal life

Loyzaga designed and owns a house in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , ; ), is a city and Port of Acapulco, major seaport in the Political divisions of Mexico, state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Located on a deep, semicirc ...

that incorporates parts of a transplanted 18th century ''

bahay na bato ''Báhay na bató'' ( Filipino for "stone house"), also known in Visayan as ''baláy na bató'' or ''balay nga bato'', and in Spanish language as ''Casa de Filipina'' is a type of building originating during the Spanish colonial period of ...

'' with capiz shell windows. The house is a reference to the

Manila-Acapulco Galleons The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loyzaga, Jorge Mexican architects New Classical architects Architects from Mexico City Conservator-restorers Interior designers Living people 1937 births